Jury chooses death for 2 ex-Marines in IE murders of fellow Marine, wife

A jury chose the death penalty Thursday for two former Camp Pendleton Marines in the murders of a fellow Marine and his wife. A third former Marine was given life without parole.

The men, 25-year-old Kevin Cox, 25-year-old Tyrone Miller and 23-year-old Emrys John, were found guilty on June 6 of murdering fellow Marine Sgt. Jan Pietrzak and his wife, Quiana.

John and Miller were given the death penalty. Cox was given life without parole.

The families of the victims were present as the verdict was read, and could be heard quietly sobbing in relief.

John and Miller were convicted of two counts of first-degree murder. The jury also found true the special circumstances of murder during the commission of a robbery and during the commission of a burglary and multiple murders. A separate jury that same day returned a guilty verdict on the same counts for Cox.

Authorities found Pietrzak and his wife bound, gagged and shot in their Winchester home on October 15, 2008. The two had only been married three months.

The prosecution says robbery was the motive. Following the murders, the three set fire to the home to cover up the crime. The jury also convicted John of being the trigger man and found Miller guilty of sexually assaulting Quiana.

During the victim impact statements, Pietrzak's mother said it felt like someone had stabbed her in the heart when she learned that her son's murderers were Marines.

A fourth defendant in the murders, Kesaun Sykes, will go on trial in August.